Great moments in the history of life / by George H. Shaw.
Shaw, George H., 1945- author.
2018
QH366.2 .S53 2018
Available Online

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Title
Great moments in the history of life / by George H. Shaw.
Author
Shaw, George H., 1945- author.
ISBN
9783319992174 (electronic book)
3319992171 (electronic book)
9783319992167
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99217-4
Published
Cham, Switzerland : Springer ; Chichester, UK : Praxis Publishing, [2018]
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (viii, 85 pages).
Item Number
10.1007/978-3-319-99217-4 doi
Call Number
QH366.2 .S53 2018
Dewey Decimal Classification
575
Summary
A non-technical (but serious) treatment of those parts of Earth history leading up to human history, as well as some pre-historical aspects of humanity. Many "events" in Earth's history necessarily preceded the emergence of human beings (and intelligence). Geology has provided us with a great deal of information about these various steps on the way to intelligent life, and how and why they were important. Some of these events were on a cosmic scale (no universe - no life!), some were planetological/astronomical (no Earth - no life), some were essentially chemical (how did life emerge in the primordial ocean and why do we have oxygen in the atmosphere?), and some were details of evolutionary history (how did life colonize the land and how did mammals develop?). In this book an enthusiastic professor of geosciences presents a broad introduction from the Big Bang to the present and into the future, lucidly explaining aspects from various disciplines to interested, non-specialist readers.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on January 23, 2019).
Series
Springer-Praxis books in popular science.
Available in Other Form
Print version: 9783319992167
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Online Access
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Introduction
In the beginning...and somewhat later
How to make a habitable planet
Prebiotic chemical synthesis
The origin of life
Interlude
Photosynthesis - the game changer
The rise of oxygen and the origin of the eukaryotic cell
Earliest plants and animals
The Cambrian explosion and emergence of "modern" body plans
The end of the Ordovician and the colonization of the land
The Permian extinction and the rise of the dinosaurs
End of Cretaceous extinction - the end of the dinosaurs
The rise of mammals, the Genus Homo, and the ongoing extinction event
Conclusion.

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